Firstly - there are two different medicines, called Fortekor and Fortekor Plus.  These are not the same drug.  If you want information on Fortekor Plus, click here!

Vets may prescribe Fortekor for two very different diseases.  It may be prescribed if:

• your pet has heart disease - Fortekor is used for: 
• dogs with congestive heart failure (CHF), caused by either mitral regurgitation (endocardiosis)  or dilated cardiomyopathy

 

Vetmedin is prescribed by vets to treat dogs with heart diseases.  Vetmedin is used for congestive heart failure (CHF) caused by two types of heart disease:

• Mitral valve disease (MVD)
• Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM)

Heart disease in dogs

Research shows that heart disease affects 10% of all dogs.  Heart diseases can be caused by a valve defect (eg. mitral valve disease) or a cardiac muscle disease (eg. dilated cardiomyopathy) or through a parasite like heartworm.  

 

Heart failure

Caninsulin is prescribed for pets that are diagnosed as diabetic, or suffering diabetes mellitus.

What is diabetes?

Diabetes mellitus (commonly called diabetes) is a disease caused by the body producing a deficiency of insulin. Insulin is a hormone produced in the pancreas, which regulates the amount of glucose in the blood. Using insulin, the body is able to use glucose for energy.  Insulin also helps balance blood glucose levels. 

When the body either produces no insulin, or not enough insulin, diabetes occurs. Humans and pets get diabetes! 

It is estimated that 1 in 500 dogs suffer from the signs of diabetes mellitus

 

Diabetes - better managed, better outcomes

Because of improvements in veterinary science, vets are better able to identify, understand and treat diabetes in pets, including diabetic dogs and diabetic cats. Feline and Canine diabetes can be managed successfully with the correct diagnosis and treatment, which includes insulin therapy using drugs like Caninsulin (called Vetsulin in the USA).

Diabetes can be managed to give your pet a good quality of life and, when diagnosed early and treated and monitored adequately, your pet has a good prognosis - the expected lifespan of a diabetic dog or cat should be the same as a non-diabetic dog or cat. With management and treatment, your pet can live a happy, healthy life.

What is Caninsulin?

Caninsulin is an insulin treatment used to treat feline diabetes and canine diabetes.  All insulin treatments mimic the natural increases and decreases of insulin levels in the body during the day. The dosages and types of insulin affects how fast and for how long they work. 

Caninsulin is an intermediate-acting insulin, containing porcine insulin.

 

What can I expect when my pet starts on Caninsulin?

• Initially - Because every pet, and their response to insulin, is unique, an initial stabilization period is required. In this initial period, your vet will monitor your pet’s response to the dosage of Caninsulin and may make adjustments. Your vet may discuss a daily routine for meals and insulin, as well as lifestyle changes to your pet’s diet and exercise.  Response varies

 

 Propalin syrup is prescribed for dogs (and very occasionally, cats) that suffer urinary incontinence.

What is urinary incontinence?

Urinary incontinence is the involuntary loss of urine. It is quite common in middle-aged and older spayed female dogs, but it can be seen in intact females and males.  In many cases, the first you’ll know about it is a small wet patch on the dog’s bed at night - if untreated, the amount of urine can increase, and can even lead to urine scalding your pet’s skin.  It’s also unhygienic and smelly - this makes pets and humans unhappy!

Incontinence isn’t naughtiness, or inappropriate weeing - an incontinent dog will be completely unaware

CPR or Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in pets is an emergency technique used when your pet has stopped breathing and they have no heartbeat. It involves rescue breathing or mouth-to-snout resuscitation and chest compressions.

Seeing your dog in a life-threatening situation can be a terrifying and stressful experience, especially if your dog is unresponsive. Arming yourself with the knowledge to effectively recognize and take action to treat your dog’s condition can help to keep you calm and greatly increase your dog’s chance of survival.

The two life-saving procedures you need to know are artificial respiration and CPR for dogs. This article will outline how to identify whether your dog needs CPR and how to perform those procedures.

Since the World Health Organisation declared the 2019 novel coronavirus (also known as CoVID-19) a global health emergency, you might have been wondering if this virus could be transmitted to your pet. This article pulls information from a variety of international sources to discuss the risk of your pet becoming infected with COVID-19.

Approximately 10% of all dogs, and 75% of senior dogs, have some form of heart disease. Heart disease can affect just one side of the heart (left or right), or sometimes it can affect both sides. It is slow to develop and can result from a genetic defect or have been caused by old age, injury, infection, poor diet or a lack of exercise.

When a dog's heart is unable to pump an adequate amount of blood around the body, this is a condition known as congestive heart failure (CHF). Congestive heart failure itself is not a disease: it is a condition that is the result of heart disease. Congestive heart failure is a fairly common condition in dogs. CHF causes an increase in both pressure and fluid in and around the heart that eventually leaks out into the lungs and sometimes elsewhere in a dog’s body. This build-up of fluid restricts a dog’s lungs and prevents them from expanding normally, thereby reducing the exchange of oxygen into the bloodstream.